Hands On: Mass Effect 3

[Andy]

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[Andy]

You see, this worries me more than it excites me.

They were, quite rightly in my opinion, getting flack because in ME2 they took a massive step away from the RPG side of things to make it more action oriented. That was also the same reason that I still prefer ME1 over ME2 any day of the week.

Don't get me wrong, Mass Effect 2 was a great game, but it wasn't a great RPG, and I was massively disappointed by it.

At the moment, it just sounds like another step in the series' devolution into 'just another cover shooter'.

[Ray]

It's a very good point. Bioware have been very secretive about showing off Mass Effect 3's story (rightfully so), yet all we continue to see are combat improvements.

For me, I think this is a benefit for the combat, as it was stunted and it needed a good overhaul, but looking at how Dragon Age 2 panned out earlier this year, how combat heavy that was, and how, ultimately, it suffered for being so constrictive, I really hope that Bioware haven't made similar mistakes with ME3.

The fact it was pushed back was a bit of a relief for me, both down to the amount of titles that are out at this time of year, and the fact that they clearly want to polish the game, and release it in the best state possible. However, it's fair to say there will be more combat than ever in ME3, that's becoming more obvious by the minute, I just hope Bioware aren't taking us away from what we know as Mass Effect in the first place

[Trent]

I'm not too worried to be honest. I agree that the omission of practically all the RPG elements with ME2 sucked ass; I like micro-managing as much as the next guy. However I think the key appeal of Mass Effect is to bring the action-packed cover shooter together with an RPG.

ME1 had pretty poor shooting compared to some of it's peers. The massive effect (lol) your stats had on your ability to fight was more a hindrance than a cool feature and essentially forced you to pour most of your upgrade points into basic weapon skills if you wanted to hit anything that was further than 10 feet away. Also, the cover mechanic was poor and stiff. The combat needed an overhaul, which it got in ME2. As far as I'm concerned, any improvements to the combat engine cannot be a bad thing, as it's simply improving that side of the franchise to compete with the competition. Are you seriously saying you'd rather the combat be less intuitive and less smooth?

On the other hand, there was no need to scrap most of the RPG elements for ME2 and replace the fun and interesting Mako missions with a fucking mining game. That did genuinely piss me off. From what I've seen and heard the RPG elements will be making a comeback to an extent, as will changing armours. Add to that the new progress trees, weapon mods and abilities and I think Bioware just might have done enough to make up for it.

Also the arc of the story has meant the combat has had to become smoother and better. In the first game you're essentially chasing one bloke, Saren, which inadvertently leads to battling fucktons of Geth and one lone Reaper with the Alliance fleet doing the damage there. In the second game however you're rallying against an entire race of malicious aliens, the Collectors. They are more intelligent and equipped than the Geth ever were and so Shepherd had to learn a few new tricks and get his shit together in combat. I mean imagine fighting through ME2 with ME1s combat system?

Now the Reapers have stopped hiding behind other races and are coming to fuck shit up themselves. Add to that the twist of Cerberus being the enemy and Shepherds task of rallying entire races to war against the Reapers, it's only natural that the combat is going to be more prominent and a bigger part of the game.

Mass Effect has always straddled the gap between shooter and RPG. The first one was a decent shooter and a decent RPG, but was bested in both areas by other games that focussed on one of the two genres. Where it shined was in it's melding of the two. ME2 brought the combat up to par with it's peers but scrapped the RPG elements mostly. Despite that, it's still about the only cover shooter with a fantastic plot you can totally influence, interactive conversations, interstellar travel and a level-up/experience based progression system. Now ME3 is looking more actiony, sure, but it's bringing back some RPGness and putting up a plot which looks to blow ME2 out of the water.

I always played Mass Effect because of the compelling story and quality of characterisation. For me, the ability to switch armour from one that has 45 points of defence to one that has 49 points of defence is not a big necessity.

[Paddy]

Whilst all the points you made are absolutely valid Trent (and you know you're my Brother in arms in the M.E.-verse!) I do agree with Andy on this one - I too far preferred the immersion that was available in Mass Effect over #2.

But I do hope the balance is struck right this time around, and to be fair - even if it isn't, I still had many amazing 'WTF!' moments in Mass Effect 2, and I'm under no illusions that even if Bioware veer away even further from the RPG-aspects of the first game, that I'll still come out grinning like a The Joker on acid.

[Andy]

The thing is though, you say the shooting wasn't great in the first one, but it was meant to be like that. You start out unskilled, so the aim roves around the place like Shepard had Parkinson's, UNTIL you'd started to level up the skills to avoid this and got the better weaponry.

Towards the end I had an aim so steady you'd assume that Shepard had wall brackets for arms.

[Trent]

Fair point, but Shepherd isn't supposed to be a green rookie; he/she is a navy Commander of the highest caliber. N7 as I'm sure you know basically means top bollock in Special Forces, so why he/she would aim like a geriatric alcoholic never made sense to me.

It's like in Alpha Protocol, you're supposed to be some top gun who gets snapped up by the shady agency for his mad skillz. Yet at the start of the game you can shoot about as well as a 15 year old having his first go at paintballing. Sure there needs to be progression, but that doesn't mean you should have to start out being absolutely shite.

Either way that's not the point. Point is that I think that Bioware dropped the ball by sheering the RPG elements for ME2 and even though they needed a little trimming there was no need to swap them for bare-bones customisation and a couple of sets of shoulder pads. BUT I disagree with anyone that says overhauling the combat and making it flashier has been detrimental. Playing ME1 after ME2 feels clunky and limited, like I've got one hand tied behind my back.

I will however say that I think the story development in the first one is a little less forced, but I suppose the vibe of the plot is very different. ME1 you're chasing a bloke, ME2 you're saving the universe. Different plots, different vibes, different storytelling devices.

[Andy]

How boring would an RPG if you started at a level that matches your character's rank? That's where we need to remember that it's a game. It still needs to be bound by the rules of a game.

Revamping the combat is detrimental if it's at expense of the other more interesting aspects that the series was known for. That's exactly what happened with ME2. It was a better shooter but a worse RPG. Considering that it's meant to be an RPG, then that's to the game's detriment, surely?

[Trent]

I see your point, but like I said I've never liked the trashing of the RPG elements.

And yeh like I said there has to be progression but it doesn't make any sense. Why make the main character the top dog when his ability doesn't reflect that? In many games you start as a low rank or as an insignificant person and work your way up as you level up and go through the story; which makes sense. Some games make your character the dogs bollocks from the start but there's no character progression or leveling up; instead there's new weapons and challenges. Both of these systems work, but it makes no sense story-wise when I'm supposed to be some super soldier but my only starting advantage is having more health.

[Ray]

Hah...so there will be multiplayer.

Can't say i'm surprised. As I'm sure you can tell from my hands-on, this game has been customised specifically to make sure it is suited to an online playground. The mode does sound quite interesting, but also a bit tacked on. Seriously, I think I would have preferred full online co-op within the campaign, rather than what we've been given. Still, I will give it a chance. I'm an open-minded gamer.

I just find it insane how Mass Effect has gone from being a solely singleplayer experience, to incorporating Kinect, adding Social Media integration, and now giving us a bit of online multiplayer. Bioware are certainly being very bold, and experimenting a lot with a game that everyone has such high expectations for...